Can you laugh at yourself?

[johnnyLupine]

Maybe some Pratchett will help answer this question?

"Is that the big city on the Ankh? Sprawling place, smells of cesspits"

It has an aincient and honourable history," said Rincewind, his voice stiff with injured civic pride.

"That's not how you described it to me," said Twoflower. "you told me that it was the only city that actually started out decadent.
Rincewind looked embarrassed. "yes, but, well, it's my home, don't you see?"


Oh yes, people in the UK and perhaps other countries are quite happy to laugh at themselves but may god have on the man who tries to laugh at us.

 

[excalipoor]

I can laugh at myself, but you can't. I will deck you, I swear.

 

[thesilentman]

Yes sir. I really like self-depreciating humor. A good way to start conversation where I'm from is to talk about yourself in the most sarcastic, negative way possible and hope no one starts a shitstorm over this.

 

[Evil Smurf]

I laugh at myself all the time, because making mistakes should not be painfull

 

[Mel Theofficegamergirl]

yes, and even when it's devastatingly embarrassing. For instance, yesterday someone posted a vid of me and her dancing while drunk at a party (and sloppily mind you). I was like I don't remember that at all! Hahaha! *sigh* I'm such a loser. XD

 

[Spade Lead]

I was just joking with my Fiancee last night how her brother is a major league fuck up (He is 32, lives at home with his father and stepmother, doesn't have a girlfriend, and doesn't have a job). I joked that it is REALLY embarrassing because here I am, the fuck-up of my family, and I have a fiancee, a family, I do my own car repairs, take care of myself, and support my family. I love joking about how much of a fuck-up I am.

 

[Kinguendo]

After watching some youtube clips, I get the impression some people can't laugh at themselves or where they grew up or whatever.

I'm from the UK, more specifically Liverpool and (at least everybody I know) thinks the UK is crap, we laugh at our inadequacies and are proud to be mediocre. Being from Liverpool I am also obligated to steal anything not bolted down and being half Irish I am also an alcoholic (despite me not drinking in nearly 5 years).

Dude, you are from Liverpool? I lost the front wheel off my bike in Liverpool, I pulled a wheelie and boom gone.

I am from West Yorkshire, more specifically the Wakefield area just so we are on equal grounds and you can bring up Whippits or tin baths or flat caps or other Yorkshire things. Yorkshire puddings, for example.

EDIT: DUDE! I am half Irish too, my mothers side.

 

[aba1]

You know what they say if you can't joke about yourself you are a joke. Everyone has there problems it is better to see it have a laugh and just work on bettering yourself. To be honest in my group of friends I take the most flak because I am the only one who doesn't really care. I have been told a few times they actually feel bad about it because it can get a little ruthless sometimes because I simply don't care.

 

[OmniscientOstrich]

All the time. I might be a bit of a bad example, seeing as I have nerves of styrafoam and self-esteem is an alien concept to me, but even still I think that unless your head is buried within your colon then you should be able to laugh at yourself/take a joke at your expense every now and again.

 

[Tdoodle]

There's always a moment of shame but it's quickly overtaken by a burning desire to take the piss of anything and anyone, including myself.

 

[Kae]

I see your chair catastrophe and raise you with breaking a chair that you are sitting in. Now that will usually embarrassed most people!

Well that's happened before, when I was on high school I tended to break chairs, well I accidentally broke everything I touched, including a door[footnote]Which literally just fell down when I touched it, seriously I didn't do anything.[/footnote] and the teacher's desk, I believe I did use the phrase "Well it seems like I must lose some weight" at least once, I'm kinda clumsy so I tend to break a lot of things[footnote]Which is why my aunt wouldn't let me enter her house when I was around there.[/footnote] and fall all the time, so I don't really it find it embarrassing at all, otherwise I'd be too busy being embarrassed all the time.
Though I do get really embarrassed when I say something embarrassing, that doesn't really stop me from making jokes about it, I mean there was that time a couple of weeks ago that I said "it sounds like being in love♥ would be a lot of fun, specially human/werewolf love♥"[footnote]It made sense in context, and that's just how I type love♥ and no I do not really have a thing for werewolves.[/footnote] and I even made a thread about it even though I was really embarrassed and kept blushing every time I looked at the monitor and I may have been dying of nervousness.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

I love to laugh at myself. My life is filled with little "Zack Moments."

On my 18th birthday I was kicked out of a comedy club for being under 21.

On my first deer hunting trip I was convinced I wanted to get a nice buck to make my Dad proud. I ended up being forced to shoot what I thought was a doe. It turned out to be a buck with its antlers broken off.

Sometimes I feel like I was born to be the comedy relief.

 

[Korolev]

I laugh at myself all the time. I am far from perfect and I catch myself doing the stupidest things on many occasions.

Anyone who can't laugh at themselves is insufferable and are a chore to be around.

 

[Kud]

What kind of strapping young man can't laugh at himself? I mean I do some pretty stupid stuff, but it's always a good laugh in retrospect.

 

[Woodsey]

Funny how "falling off a chair" is shorthand for "laughing at yourself" because it is almost the most embarrassing thing you can do with your clothes on.

You could shit yourself, or do lots of other more embarrassing things with your clothes on. Most of them involve bodily fluids, admittedly.

OT: Can't stand people with no sense of self-awareness or irony about themselves. I moved into halls recently, and there's this one guy who tells us all the same stories over and over again, so now we've taken to interjecting jokey and slightly snide comments. He just looks slightly bemused for a split-second and carries on from exactly where he was.

I hear Americans have some problems with that though - I think it's where the whole, "they don't understand sarcasm" thing comes from. As in, they'll take something as a sleight as opposed to everyone understanding that everyone's fair game for a piss take. Could just be made up still.

 

[Patrick Buck]

Yeah, I think I can. Hell, sometimes I do stupid things just so I can laugh about how stupid I am afterwards....